Minerals Never Seemed So Hot Before

If there is one way to convince me to pull an Obama and leave the high paying non-profit industry for a fulfilling life of government service this story could be it

WASHINGTON: As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal - including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct.

In three reports delivered to Congress on Wednesday, the department's inspector general, Earl Devaney, found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Minerals Management Service, which collects about $10 billion in royalties annually and is one of the government's largest sources of revenue other than taxes.

Fantastic. Who would have thought all this corruption and lack of ethics was possible at a government agency who collected billions of dollars?

And tell me you wouldn't want to work at a company with this mission statement:

Two other reports focus on "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" in the service's royalty-in-kind program. That part of the agency collects about $4 billion a year in oil and gas rather than cash royalties.

Full story here.